Turret and treadle bar tuner



O -16, 1 c. wBLossE'Y Em 2,571 411 TURRET AND FREADLE BAR TUNER Filed June 6, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l 06L 1951 c; w. BLOSSEY E.TAL 2,571,

TURRET AND TREADLE BAR TUNER Filed June 6, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gnaw/"tom 1951 c. w. BLOSSEY ET AL 2,571,411

TURRET AND TREADLE BAR TUNER Filed June 6, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 gwucwtow Patented Oct. 16, 1951 Kokomo, 1nd,, assignorst6- General} Motors-Z Corporation, Detroit, Micligat corporationiofi Delaware-.1

Applicationilnnefii,1946eria1N h ens-.333;

h s; applicat on r la es to m nual. au mat c ind xin me hanism. a d ore a ti ul rto echanisms.- or tuning a rad o e i o blies, the. operator of the stmay select; and tune in any one, of four or. five, preset broadcasting stations.

Selective ush button tuning, although possess:

inga, number oiadvantages over dial tuning, still.

leaves something, to. be desired; particularly in automobile radios.

Push button tuners, by their very nature,,m1. st"v be located onor; very near. the radio cabinet, and, the operator must visually select the button on.

leve he is. toa ua In automobiles, the radio is usuallylocatedi'on or near the instrument panel. This'is out of the n rmalfi ldf vie of h dr vern nda rernqte from the steering wheel and'the d l'elf .1911

position. A great need, therefore, arises for a tuning: means which may. be operated remotely and; which requires no visual selection. of themechanism to be actuated; It isalso very desirable that some means be providedforconvenient- 1y altering the stations preselected when the owner desires tochange the combinati'onofstations-to be received.

It is therefore an object of this invention to:

provide an-indexingdevice of improveddesignz Another object of this invention is' to provide" an improved radio tuning device of thejstep'by step type.

A further object of-this'invention is to. providea tuning device for radio receiving apparatus:

which is simple in construction, inexpensive in cost, dependable in operation and of a size adapt ed: to be positioned within a relatively; restricted pa e,

Another object of thisinvention is to proyide'asequential tuning device which maybe manually or electrically operated.

A. still further object of this inyentign' is to:

provide a quential" unin d ce ion rennetability tuned-radio sets;

1 5 GlaimS- (Cl. 74.-.-15:)'

With these and; otherobject'sdn view, the enrbodiment of our invention will best be under st eod by reference to; the; following specification and claimsand the illustrations in" the following" drawings, in which;

Figure-'1? is a view' of one embodiment of our invention with the actuating linkagef in theret-ractedmositionbefore indexing of the turret.

Figure 2" is afview of; the same embodiment of our invention as Figure l with the-actuatinglihk age-in the position" assumed whenthe radio set is tuned.

Figure 3 is a viewofthe same embodiment of our'inventi on-as Figuresl and 2=-but showing the 4 aqtuating linkagein the retracted position after the indexing of the turret.

Figure 4' shows" the turret subassembly" i11us+ trating the means foralterihg-the station setups Figurefij shows a second embodiment'of ourim vention;

Figure 6 shows a third embodiment of our-inntiq a Figure? shows fourthembodiment 9f ourinvention.

Figuretshows certain details of turretindeig- .9 m ha is f t e embo m nt o 0. venbh'sh wnmqr ull n F gu Eisere- 'sh sth sme we ue bnes Figu twith th t'u lfe etl e a tly"ind x posit on- Fieure 0 s iq s' t e e m n m qn s Fie r s' eadi w he t in t r et he 01. Pltemrmdewleosi en Rei r ine w'm re i qall w ur s and 3" A ram su bqr s s id t min tlirre ple e 5 ic h u h s i ab linkages; adiustsfthewwtin e e il mime ad e 1, fi u e showe actuat n solemidsore '1' n eqtrqmaene ic 99. I atta d o a" sli e b e n t: Th slid is bias- Q qth lfi by tensi n sw ne H w e t rn is attach d 0 ame Z b B n '9 I Manuel atin meenah we er;ma ebst tu eci'fo th s el ctrqmaen t q man e anes"- tance" un n me n a be tiae ed t h needle be ins e d o h'eindue enee n n means illu trates. Wi out eeeerins" 11" the scqee' eu ie en n Slide has reta ab at ested 11 t2 .-b me ns at se n 421 tunnel" is ew-vine. ee J'usi blei tunin em l8 e uiqi tee l er vai l wa d-th eon- This der'ela e ee eem er.- eneem is ree ei'qe ei in Fi e? and illie see-c fie lly deseribeq let rii i this ap ica n.- ma y seared a turret la 6 and re etab e the wi h ndex la .49 we iIIdeX c-am' 4a. Pivotally mounted" on' slide 4* b 3 means of pin 50 is a connecting link 52. This link has, in turn, pivotally mounted thereon by pin 54, a lever 56 which is rotatably secured to the frame 2 by another pin 58. Slide 4 has also mounted thereon, a projection 60 for tripping the indexing mechanism. This projection is shown as being concentric with the plate 6 but such location is not necessary as any other suitable location is sufiicient. Pivotally mounted on projection 62 of slide 4 by means of a pin 64 is a latching lever 66. A projection on lever 66, is biased into engagement with a steep sided deto a pin I I 2 rigidly attached to the frame 2. At-

tent 68, on index plate 46, ,bymeansof spring.

I0. The spring is secured at the end opposite the latching lever to the slide 4.

Ratchet slide 12 is supported by and. free to.

slide on pin '14 which is rigidly secured to'part of the frame 2. Tension spring 16 is fastened to the frame 2 and loads the slide 12 toward the frame wherethe spring is attached. Slide '12 carriesa ratchet pawl I8 so positioned as to properly engage. the projections on the index cam 48.; On one end of slide 12 is a projection 80 of suitable size and configuration to be properly engaged by lever 56 and so retract this slide sufficiently for the bellcrank lever 84 to engage notch 82. Lever 84 is pivotally mounted to frame 2 on pin 86. It is biased in a clockwise direction by tension spring 88 attached to frame 2 by pin 90. This lever is located so as to be rotated counterclockwise against the bias of spring 88 by pin 60 when slide 4 is moved sufliciently to the left. Lever 82 is pivotally mounted to frame 2 1; pin 94 and slidably connected to slide I2 by pin 96 which is fixed to the slide and slides in slot 88 in the lever. The lower edge of this lever is so formed as to be capable of contacting latching lever 66 and rotating it sufficiently to disengage a projection on this latching lever from detent 68 onindex plate 46.

Tuning treadle bar 40 is rotatably attached to frame 2 bypin I00. Secured to projection I02 of the treadle bar is a cable I04 for moving tuning core 8 into its proper position in inductance coil I0.

Fig. 4 is a more detailed view of the turret plate 6 and the means for mounting and adjusting the pivotally mounted double contact tuning cams I8. In the specific form of our invention shown the plate 6 has five circumferentially equally spaced projections 20. Mounted on these projections by means of .pins 22 are cams I8 having two projecting cam surfaces. Concentric with the mounting pins these cams have worm gear teeth or threads 24. Engaging said gear teeth, for the purpose of resetting and holding in the reset position, are worms or threaded adjustin means 26. These worms are secured tothe turret plate 6 by bearing brackets 28 and 30 and have mounted on one end thereof a spur gear 32. Mounted on the frame 2 is a reset shaft 36 with a spurgear 34 which is capable of being engaged with spur gear 32 when the cam adjusted by that gear is engaged with the tuning treadle bar 40. The gears are normally held disengaged, even when the two contact surfaces of cam I 8 are engaged with the treadle bar 40, by coil spring 38, but maybe engaged by manually retracting the shaft 36. Thus, by retracting shaft 36 to engage the gears and rotating it, any radio station, within the frequency range covered by the set, may be selected and the correct tuning adjustment therefore set on the tuning device.

Referring to Figure 5, another form of our inventionis shown. In this form the indexing tached to projection IIO by means of pivot pin H4, and spring H6, is latching lever II8, which has a projection I20 for engaging detent 68 of the index plate 46. Lever I22 which is rotatably secured to frame 2 by pin I24 is biased in counterclockwise. direction by tension spring I26 which is attached to frame 2 by pin I28. Lever I22 has a projection I30 for engaging detents 68. Projections I20 and I30 are so spaced angularly with respect to index plate 46 that both of them cannot engage detents therein simultaneously. Projection I32 on frame 2 is so positioned as to limit the movement of, and engage lever I22 atthe proper time to raise the projection I30 out of the'detents 68 and permit indexing of the turret plate 6. Lever 44 is also rotatably mounted to frame 2 by pin I24.

Rotatably mounted on lever 44 by means of pin I34 is a ratchet lever I38. This ratchet lever is maintained in the proper position with regard to index cam 48 by a tension spring I38. The other end of this spring is attached to the frame 2 by means of a pin I40.

Also located on lever I36 is a projection I42 for engaging index cam 48 and indexing the turret plate 6. Spring I38 also performs a second function of biasing the lever 44 in a counterclockwise direction. Its rotation in this direction is limited by projection I 44 on frame 2. Also mounted on frame 2 are two projections or lugs I46 and I48. leaf spring I50, which is free to flex in one direction'but is restrained from flexing in the other direction by projection I48. Spring I50 is of such length and 50 positioned as to engage lever III! and free the projection I20 thereof from detent 68.

Referring to the embodiment of our invention shown in Figure 6, the turret assembly in this construction is carried in an oscillatory orbit by plate I52. This plate is attached to the actuating solenoid by a small link I54 secured at one end to the plate by pin I56 and at the other end by pin I58 to the solenoid core I2. The plate is rotatably attached to the frame 2 by a pin I60. Tension spring I62 attached to the frame 2 by pin I64 biases the plate in a clockwise direction. Plate I52 carries rotatably mounted on one end thereof, by means of pin 42, the turret tuning assembly shown in Figure 4. Latching lever I66 is rotatably mounted on plate I52 by pin I65 in such. a manner as to allow projection I68 to engage detents 68 of the index plate 46. A tension spring "0 attached both to latching lever I66 and plate I52 biases the projections into engagement with the detents 68. Cam lever I II is rotatably mounted to the frame 2 by pin I12. Projection I14 on frame 2 permits only limited clockwise rotation of thi lever. Lever I'II is biased against this projection, and indexing lever I16, also rotatably attached to the frame, is similarly biased but in a counterclockwise direction against a similar frame projection I18, by a spring I80 attached between these two levers. Lever III has a cam surface I82 which engages a similar cam surface on lever I66 to disengage projection Lug I46 has attached thereto a.

am ne.

I68 from detent as at the proper time. The'projection or dog I84 on lever L'lfiiis; so positioned.

a to engage the index cam 48tand properly index the turret plate.

Referring to Figure '7, another embodiment. of

our invention using. a double slide cam arrangement is shown. In this figure, the. frame of the radio 2, supports cam slide ['86 in. guides. 2116'. Cut in this slide. is an opening: I88 which carries therein two pairs of camsurfaces I99; I9I, I92. and I93, so positioned as to properly engage indexing pins on the turret 6. These cam surfaces. may be replaced by any pin engaging means with out departing from the scope of the invention. A projection I94 on the slide I86 has attached thereto a solenoid core I2 for actuating the slide on the tuning stroke. The slide is biased in the direction of the retracting stroke by a tension. spring I96 secured at one end to the base 2:-by

means of a pin I98. 7

A second slide 222 iscarried in the frame-2 by guides 264. This slide has projection. 266- to limit its movement in one direction and the treadle bar limits its movement in the other. This second slide hasrotatably mounted thereon by means of pin 42, a turret quite similar to that more specifically shown in Figure 4 and described Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, Figure 2 shows one embodiment of this invention in the position assumed when the radio set is tuned. When it is desired to tune the set t the next stage in sequence the solenoid I4 is deenergized by breaking the power circuit, not shown. The slide 4' then moves to the left under the action of spring I'l. Lever 66 slides under lever 92 as the-assembly proceeds to the left. Near the end of the retracting stroke, the pin 66 on the slide 4 engages the bellcrank lever 64, as shown. in Figure 1, tripping the dog on this lever'out of the notch 82. This action releases the ratchet slide I2 and it moves to the right underthe action of spring 16. The ratchet pawl it then engages a notch on the index cam 48 which tends to rotate the turret assembly in the counterclockwise direction. Simultaneously, or immediately before, lever 92 engages latching lever 66 forcing the projection on this latching lever out of the detent 68 of the index plate 46 allowing the turret to rotate. On further movement of the ratchet slide I2, the lever 82 disenages the latching lever 66 allowing the projection on this lever to engage the next detent 63 and so stop the rotation of the turret plate. The turret is now fully indexed a shown in Figure 3 and in a position to tune the set to the next preselected frequency. The solenoid I4 is now reenergized and the slide 4 proceeds. to the right on the tuning stroke. As this slide moves to the right the toe of the lever 56 engages projection 80 of the ratchet slide 12 recocking the indexing mechanism.

Referring again to Figure 2, the double contact.

tuning cam is engages the treadle bar 46 which in turn moves the core 8 into the correct position.

in the coil It to tune the set. As this operation is repeated, the radio set is tuned to five. preselected stagesin sequence.

Referring to Figure 4, thepreselection; of the frequencies: to be. received may be. made by? adj-- justing the position. of; thecam. IB;wl1i1.e-.i t. isdn. contactwith the treadle bar.- 40; Whenthis; cam is. in=.a position: to tune. the set; the teeth ofthe. gear 32: are. aligned; with. the. teeth. of the adj Listsv ing: spur gear 34..to tune the. set and thereby? select. the frequency to be received, the. shaft; 3.5: isxretracted against the. bias of the spring. 3.8:suflia ciently to cause. engagement of the teeth, of: the; gears 32: and 34. .Movement of the shaft. 361-, is thereby transmitted through these. gear; teethv and through the worms 26. so as: to adjust; the: cams and consequently the tuning. elements: to. thefrequency desired.

Figure 5. shows another modification. the; invention, this. modification being. shown: with. the: tuning: slide. in. a partly retracted position. In. this modification, when the solenoid. I4 isdeem.- ergized; the. slide L06. is retracted from the tuned. position by actionof the spring I08. As. it isiretracted the projection I42. on the ratchet. lever, I36. engages the index cam, 48', and is, carried back. from. its position against projection I44, so as. to exert a rotational force in a counterclockwise direction. on the turret assembly. Near the. end of the retracting stroke, the latching lever II8 engages. the leaf spring I50v forcing theaprojection I20 out of the detent 68. This allowsthe; turret to rotate until the projection. I30, which is now riding against the index plate- 46;. engages; a second detent fi'd, thereby stopping rotation. When the solenoid I4 is energized, theslide- I106; moves to the right on the tuning stroka. Asait proceeds to the right, the lever I22 engages; the; projection or stop I32 thereby disengaging: the. lever .from the detent. 68, allowing the. turret: to; further rotate until the projection I20. on. the. lever II8 engages another detent 68. Theaturret; is then fully indexed. As the tuning stroke further continued, the double contact cam. I8 is; brought in contact, with the treadlebar 411. which in turn, positions the tuning elements of the radio set, thus tuning the set to the next preselected. frequency.

Referring to Figure 6, another modification. of. our invention is shown with the tuning, mechanism in a partly retracted position, In. this; modification, when the solenoid I4 is deenergized,- the plate I52 rotates clockwise around pin; I60, under the force of spring I62. The cam surface I82 on the cam lever Ill engages the latching lever I66 raising the projection I68 out of the detent 68. Almost simultaneously the dog I84 on the lever I76 engages the index cam 43 rotating. it counterclockwise. As the retracting stroke proceeds, the latching lever 166 rides over. the. cam I82 dropping the projection I68 down into contact with the index plate 46. The turret continues to rotate until this latching projection. drops into the next detent 68 completing the, indexing function. When the solenoid isen. ergized, the plate I52 rotates in a counterclockwise direction bringing the, indexed cam I8 into. contact with the treadle bar 40; so as to tune-the set to the next preselected stage. As the-tuning stroke proceeds, the dog I84 rides over the index: cam 48 and the lever I16 assumes the position. against the stop or frame projection Band is: thus in position for the next indexing Stroke, Also, as the tuning stroke proceeds, the. end of lever III will be displaced in a counterclockwise; direction against the bias of spring ISIlxdue to the. action of cam tip of lever I66, thus allowingproe jection I68to remainin contact with index plate;

. 46.v The treadle, bar 40 in this modification. tunes;

the set by indexing the tuning members in the same manner as described above.

Referring to Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10, another modification of the invention using a double slide cam arrangement is illustrated. In Figure 7, this mechanism is shown just after the start of the indexing motion. When it is desired to tune the set to the next preselected frequency in sequence, the solenoid I4 is deenergized and the slide I86 proceeds to the left under the action of spring I96. As it does so, the slide 202 follows under action of spring 220 until projection Z06 engages the frame 2, then the camming surface I90 of slide I06 engages the pin 2l0 on the rotating turret,- rotating said turret in a counterclockwise direction until the pin 2 engages the cammingsurface NH. The turret is then onehalf indexed and in the fully retracted position, as shown in Figure 8. The solenoid I4 is then again energized, the cam surface I93 engages the pin 2H5, as shown in Figure 9, rotating the turret until pin 2l0 engages camming surface I02 as shown in Figure 10. The turret and slide 202 is then carried along with slide I86 on the tuning stroke until the positioned cam engages the treadle bar 40, thereby positioning the tuning elements of the set to the next preselected frequency.

From the description above, it may thus be seen that a succession of forces introduced either manually or electrically on the same element of a radio set, may be used to tune the set to several preselected frequencies in sequence. Although the invention is specifically described for inductive or permeability tuning, it may be readily appreciated that the invention equally applies to capacitive tuning. A gang condenser could be driven by shaft I and the present invention would be equally applicable to such a tuning mechanism. It is also equally obvious that the slides in the various modifications of our invention could be actuated manually as well as electrically.

It is to be understood also that although the invention has been described with specific reference to a particular embodiment thereof, it is not to be so limited since changes and alterations therein may be made which are within the full intended scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A sequential positioning device including: a rotatable treadle bar to be positioned, a turret carrying equally spaced adjustable double contact cams capable of contacting said treadle bar at two points on opposite sides of its axis of rotation and so position said treadle bar, means for actuating said turret to cause said cams to contact said treadle bar, said turret and said cams rotatable about axes parallel to the axis of rotation of said treadle bar means for indexing said arcuate cams into position for contacting said treadle bar and means for adjusting said arcuate cams when they are in contact with said treadle bar.

2. A radio tuning device including: a tuning reactance element, a rotatable treadle bar for pcsitioning said reactance element, a plurality of adjustable double contact cams each capable of forcing said treadle bar into a preselected position, said cams and said treadle bar rotatable about parallel axes and'a single means for actuating said cams in sequence to thereby cause engagement of one of said cams with said treadle bar to actuate said treadle bar, and simultaneous acting indexing mechanisms, all so positioned that 8 said radio may be tuned to several preselected fr-' quencies in sequence.

3. A sequential turret type radio tuning device including a treadle bar for positioning the tuning element, a plurality of adjustable cams equidistantly spaced on a turret, each capable of moving the treadle bar to a preselected position, a reciprocating plate carrying said turret rotatably mounted thereon, a ratchet plate rigidly secured to. said turret, a reciprocating slide carrying a pawl, means for causing reciprocation of the slide actuated by the reciprocating plate said pawl engaging said ratchet plate and indexing said turret upon the movement of said reciprocating plate.

4. An indexing device for turret type sequential tuners including, a reciprocating plate to which is rotatably secured a tuning turret having a plurality of equidistantly spaced adjustable tuning cams secured thereon, said turret having rigidly secured thereto an index plate having detents therein and a ratchet plate, a pawl capable of engaging a detent in said index plate, a reciprocating spring biased indexing slide, means actuated by said slide to move the pawl means for cocking said slide on movement of said reciprocating plate in one direction, means on movement of said reciprocating plate in the other direction for tripping said indexing slide to allow the slide to engage said ratchet plate and to disengage said pawl from said detent, so as to index said turret to a predetermined position and lock said turret in this position.

5. An indexing device for turret type sequential tuners including, a reciprocating slide to which is rotatably secured a tuning turret having a plurality of equidistantly spaced adjustable tuning cams secured thereon, said turret having rigidly secured thereto an index plate having a plurality of detents equidistantly spaced thereon, said turret also having rigidly secured thereto a ratchet plate, a spring biased reciprocating indexing slide capable of engaging said ratchet plate and indexing said turret, an oscillating lever with a pawl for engaging a detent in said index plate when said turret is fully indexed, means actuated by the indexing slide to move the oscillating lever means associated with said first mentioned slide to cock said ratchet slide on one stroke, and a second means for tripping said ratchet slide on the reverse stroke of said first mentioned slide so that the turret is indexed.

6. A sequential turret type radio tuning device including a treadle bar for positioning the tuning elements, a tuning turret carrying a plurality of adjustable cams thereon, a ratchet plate rigidly secured to said turret, a reciprocating plate carrying said turret rotatably mounted thereon, an oscillating lever carrying a second lever rotatably mounted thereon, said second lever carrying a pawl rigidly attached thereto, said pawl engaging said ratchet plate and indexing said turret thereby positioning one of said adjustable cams relative to said treadle bar upon the movement of said reciprocating plate in each of two directions.

7. An indexing mechanism for sequential turret type radio tuners, including: an oscillatable plate carrying a turret with a plurality of tuning cams rotatably mounted thereon, said turret having rigidly attached thereto a ratchet wheel and an index plate, a lever for engaging said index plate and looking it from rotation, said lever rotatably mounted to said oscillatable lever, a pawl engaging said ratchet wheel, and a cam actuating said lever to disengage it from the index plate upon the movement of said turret carrying oscillatable plate and means for oscillating said plate to cause the sequential indexing of said indexed plate.

8. A sequential turret type radio tuning device including: a treadle bar for positioning the tuning element, a plurality of cams equidistantly spaced on a turret, means for actuating said turret to cause one of said cams to engage said treadle bar and thereby index said treadle bar to a preselected position, an oscillating plate carrying said turret rotatably mounted thereon, means for looking said turret in a fixed position on said plate, means actuated by movement of said oscillating plate with respect thereto to unlock said turret, index it to a new position and lock it in the indexed position.

9. An indexing mechanism for sequential turret type radio tuners, including a slide carrying a turret tuner rotatably mounted thereon, said turret tuner having a plurality of projections thereon, a second slide mounted for relative motion with respect to the first and having cam surfaces so positioned and associated with said projections as to cause said turret to be indexed the distance between two projections when said second slide is moved once with respect thereto in each of two directions and means for causing such relative motion.

10. An indexing mechanism for sequential type turret radio tuners including, a reciprocating member carrying a rotatable turret with a plurality of tuning cams equidistantly spaced on said turret, said turret also having a plurality of projections equidistantly spaced thereon, a second reciprocating member mounted for relative motion with respect to the first and having cam surfaces, said surfaces so positioned and arranged as to engage at least two of said projections to index said turret on the completion of two strokes of relative motion of said second reciprocating member with respect to the first and means for causplate, rotatably adjustable double contact cams mounted on said turret at a common radial distance and equiangularly displaced from each other, a rotatable treadle bar so located as to permit the simultaneous contact on both sides of its axis of rotation by one of said cams, means for rotatably indexing said turret the necessary angular distance to sequentially place said cams into position for engaging said treadle bar.

12. An indexing mechanism as claimed in claim 11 in which the plate, the turret, the cams, and the treadle bar all have parallel axes of rotation.

13. An indexing mechanism as claimed in claim 11 including means for adjusting the cams while they are engaged with the treadle bar. 7

14. An indexing mechanism as claimed in claim 11 in which the means for rotatably indexing the turret includes an index plate and a ratchet wheel concentrically located on said turret, a lever rotatably mounted on said oscillating plate for engaging said index plate and looking it from rotation, a pawl engaging said ratchet wheel, and a cam actuating said lever to disengage it from said index plate upon the movement of said turretcarrying plate which is capable of oscillatory movement.

15. An indexing mechanism for sequential turret type radio tuners as claimed in claim 7 in which the plate capable of oscillatory movement, the turret, the tuning cams, the ratchet wheel, the index plate and the indexing lever all have parallel axes of rotation.

CARL W. BLOSSEY. MANFRED G. WRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,310,720 Wandrey et al Feb. 9, 1943 2,342,691 Plensler Feb. 29, 1944 2,342,851 Fichter et al Feb. 29, 1944 2,411,754 Pifer et al Nov. 26, 1946 

